Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but examine all things; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, who also will do this“

1 Thessalonians 5:19-24

We all know that to quench something means to put it out – especially when referencing fire. It also means to ‘cool (something, such as heated metal) suddenly by immersion (as in oil or water)’; to ’cause to lose heat or warmth’; to ‘bring (something immaterial) to an end typically by satisfying, damping, cooling, or decreasing’; and to ‘terminate by or as if by destroying : eliminate’ (all definitions from the Merriam-Webster dictionary). We know we can’t destroy, eliminate, or terminate Ruach HaKodesh – although we CAN deny Ruach HaKodesh and refuse to cooperate with Him. We know we cannot decrease what Adonai has given to us – although we CAN refuse to engage it. We cannot cause Ruach HaKodesh to lose the warmth, heat, and light of the Father – although we CAN harden our hearts and close our ears to His voice. We also know that we CAN leave our first love (Revelation 2:4) and we CAN dilute our trust in Jesus by also trying to be part of the world (Revelation 3:15-16). These are all valid warnings. These are all things to both avoid and actively fight against. But there is another meaning to quench that I think is just as important.

As a transitive verb quench can also mean ‘to relieve or satisfy with liquid’. As an intransitive verb it can mean ‘to become calm : subside’ -(both definitions also from the Merriam-Webster dictionary). I think this is the more insidious warning and one we need to ALWAYS be on guard against. All the first warnings are about rejecting Ruach HaKodesh or refusing to cooperate with Him. They are pushing Him back or holding Him at arm’s length or spending our prayer time with our hands over our ears loudly shouting ‘la-la-la-la-la-I-can’t-hear-you’. But these last definitions point toward something else: complacency. The idea that ‘we got it’. The idea that we feel we have mastered our relationship with Ruach HaKodesh. That we have drunk the living water (John 7:37-39) and are satisfied. Done. Finished. And while this is a true statement of Jesus: “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of this water which I will give to him will never be thirsty for eternity, but the water which I will give to him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”” (John 4:13-14). It doesn’t mean the process FINISHES.

The key is in the last five words of Jesus in those verses: “water springing up to eternal life“. Eternal life as defined by Jesus is “that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3b). So the abundant life Jesus came to provide to us through Himself (John 10:10) includes a NEVER ENDING relationship with Adonai. We gain that relationship and maintain that relationship through the water that springs up within us. The water of Ruach HaKodesh. The water of Jesus. The water of the Father. We interact with Jesus through Ruach HaKodesh. We interact with the Father through Jesus. The Living Water that is the lifeblood of our relationship with Adonai is bound up in who Adonai is. If it didn’t keep flowing, it wouldn’t provide life. Stagnant water can harbour harmful bacteria and other microorganisms, including viruses, parasites, and fungi. Stagnant water can cause structural damage and erosion. Adonai is a God of MOTION (Daniel 2:21-23). Ruach HaKodesh is always MOVING (Genesis 1:2). As we rest in Jesus, we too are on the MOVE (Acts 17:28). Stagnation is a DANGEROUS state – whether in this physical world or in the spiritual world.

The biggest danger to our trust in Jesus is the decision we make that we have it figured out. And this can be proven to be a common decision simply by reading the Word with expectation to receive from Ruach HaKodesh. I have been reading the bible stories and parables of Jesus my whole life. I was trained in them as a child. Yet now, over fifty years into this life of reading, I am STILL finding new things in the Word. New aspects to the stories. New applications of the parables. How is this possible? “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, and able to judge the reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The scriptures are LIVING. They are ACTIVE. That means I am NEVER EVER EVER going to get to the ‘bottom’ of them. I am NEVER EVER EVER going to be ‘finished’ with learning from them. Not now. Not in eternity. There is ALWAYS going to be more to learn. An infinite God can infinitely be learned from. Adonai is the FATHER of eternity. It will take more than an eternity to learn the depths and glory of who He is. Now, if that is true of the WORD, then how much MORE true is it of Ruach HaKodesh?

Today’s verses could start like this: Do not ever feel finished with the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but examine all things; hold fast to what is good. Ruach HaKodesh is never going to stop speaking to us because Adonai does not ever stop doing things (John 5:17). If Adonai never stops doing things, Adonai will never stop talking to us about those things. “Surely my Lord does not do anything unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). And Adonai isn’t just working in the world, but in ourselves as well (Philippians 2:13). Adonai is NEVER going to run out of things to say to us. We are ALWAYS going to be spoken to, corrected, guided, taught, and challenged (convicted) to trust Jesus more. We need to remember to ALWAYS reject a feeling of completion when it comes to Adonai and Ruach HaKodesh’s conversation with us. There is always something to learn. There is always something to grow. There is always something to get light onto. There is always something new in the Word (to discover, to apply, not new revelation that wasn’t there before). There is always something to renew in our thinking (Romans 12:2). Our journey never ends because our relationship never ends. Don’t fall into the trap of complacency. Don’t fall into the error of thinking that’s done. Don’t ever stop leaning into Ruach HaKodesh, the Word, and Jesus. Each day, each moment, each part of the conversation brings us closer and closer to the Father. And once there before Him? We get to start getting to know Him face to face. We are satisfied in Jesus, but we are NEVER quenched. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Isaiah 58:11

“And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land, and he will strengthen your bones, and you shall be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.” There are no dry places in Adonai, praise His Name! When we hit plateaus and desert places, we have roots that maintain our spiritual hydration levels. The Yucatán Peninsula is approximately 181,000 km² (70,000 sq mi) in area. It has low relief and is almost entirely composed of porous limestone. Underneath it is water. It rests on water. The trees there send their roots down through the porous limestone to reach that water underneath. As a result, even in the most intense droughts, the trees are lush, green, and doing fine. Their circumstances can be horrific, but their life is on-going, lush, and full. We are the same way. When we are rooted in Jesus (John 15:5), we have access to life no matter WHAT the circumstances. When we are relying on Adonai as our Source, then HIS Fruit become OUR Fruit. We can have JOY at ANY time no matter HOW we are feeling. His JOY leads to our happiness. His STRENGTH leads to our satisfaction. His LOVE leads to our love. He provides EVERYTHING we need in HIMSELF. We don’t need to go digging in the world. We don’t need to go searching through human thinking. We can dig into the Word. We can seek His face. We can find in Him all that we need, all that we could want, and all that sustains us. In HIM we can have abundant life no matter what the feels, no matter what the situation, no matter what the circumstance, and no matter where we find ourselves. In HIM we have all we could EVER ask for. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8